[JOY (JOY)]

Closes #1310

What

• sanitizePublicApiError is an allow-list now: only a PublicApiError (new, in server/rate/api-handler.ts) passes its message, and still not one that looks internal or is over 240 characters. Any other error answers with the route's fixed message.
• jsonApiError never puts an error's message in a 5xx body.
• POST /api/reviews/[id]/vote: the 500 path answers its fixed message; the 400 vote rejections answer their fixed messages too (the 403 not-eligible and 429 rate-limit answers are unchanged).

No route passed an error to a 4xx jsonApiError, so no client-facing validation message changes.

Tests

core-rate-architecture.test.ts: a plain Error and a TypeError get the fallback, a PublicApiError keeps its message, an internal-looking public message is still masked, a 5xx with a public error gets the fixed message.

Checks

pnpm --filter web test, tsc --noEmit, eslint, prettier: green locally.

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

---

📌 TL;DR

This PR hardens the public API error handling by introducing a PublicApiError class to strictly allow-list client-facing messages, preventing the leakage of internal database or system errors. It also ensures that all 5xx responses return a generic fallback message regardless of the underlying error type.

🎯 Type of Change

• 🚀 New feature
• 🐛 Bugfix
• 🧹 Refactor
• ⚡ Performance
• 📚 Documentation
• ⚙️ CI / Configuration

🔍 Changes Walkthrough

File	Summary of Changes
apps/web/src/app/api/reviews/[id]/vote/route.ts	Updated the 500 error handler to return a static string instead of calling sanitizePublicApiError, aligning with the new policy that 5xx errors never expose specific messages.
apps/web/src/server/rate/api-handler.ts	Introduced PublicApiError class. Modified sanitizePublicApiError to only accept PublicApiError instances (strict allow-list). Updated jsonApiError to bypass sanitization and return the fallback message for any status code >= 500.
apps/web/src/server/rate/__tests__/core-rate-architecture.test.ts	Updated tests to verify that generic Error objects are masked, PublicApiError messages are preserved (unless they look internal), and 5xx responses always use the fallback message.

📊 Architectural Flow

flowchart TD
    A[API Request] --> B{Error Occurred?}
    B -- No --> C[Success Response]
    B -- Yes --> D{Status Code?}
    
    D -- 5xx --> E[Return Fixed Fallback Message]
    D -- 4xx --> F{Is Error Instance of PublicApiError?}
    
    F -- No --> G[Return Fixed Fallback Message]
    F -- Yes --> H{Message Looks Internal or Too Long?}
    
    H -- Yes --> G
    H -- No --> I[Return Sanitized Public Message]
    
    E --> J[JSON Response]
    G --> J
    I --> J

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Project	Deployment	Actions	Updated
rate	Ready	Preview	Oct 28, 2026 7:32pm UTC

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Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between 4eca23d and 0f722db.

Files selected for processing: 3

• apps/web/src/app/api/reviews/[id]/vote/route.ts
• apps/web/src/server/rate/__tests__/core-rate-architecture.test.ts
• apps/web/src/server/rate/api-handler.ts

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⏱️ Code Review completed (3 eligible files · 5,273 chars · 4 model call(s) · 1 PR unit(s))

Whole diff with bounded context at base 4eca23d / head 0f722db.

✅ CLEAN_PASS: Complete diff reviewed

Context investigation was bounded to the explicitly requested snapshot paths.